Upendra Baxi wrote a short
piece titled Collective conspiracy to hush up Babasahebs
burning thoughts in Dalit voice in 1992. Collective conspiracy
is indeed the appropriate phrase to describe the suppression of Ambedkars
thoughts in the Indian academia and the public sphere. How else does
one explain the fact that Ambedkars writings were not available
for the larger public to read and comment upon till recently? Dalits
in Maharastra had to wage a battle to get Ambedkars writings published
by the Government of Maharashtra. The 16 volumes of Ambedkars
writings and speeches came to light in the late 1980s and 1990s.

The stature of Ambedkar has
grown with the emergence of the independent Dalit movement in the country
in the 1980s and 1990s. Ambedkar and his work have emerged as an important
symbol of the Dalit movement and thus difficult to ignore in the recent
years. The present volume of Ambedkars selected writings is the
first of its kind on Ambedkar. One does not know whether to appreciate
or criticize the attempt of publishing houses like the Oxford University
Press for publishing Ambedkar as late as in 2002.

The present volume presents
the essential writings of Ambedkar in 550 odd pages. The volume has
an introduction and an exhaustive bibliography and explanatory notes
in the end. One must appreciate Valerian Rodrigues, the editor, for
the detailed endnotes and an updated select bibliography on Ambedkar.
A brief thematic guide to Babasaheb Ambedkars writings and speeches
comes as ready reference to Ambedkar on a particular topic. The editor
abandons the chronological sequence of Ambedkars writings. He
presents a selection of short texts around the seminal themes of Ambedkars
writings - Caste, Untouchability, Identity, Religion, Economics, Nationalism,
Constitutionalism and Law. The best of Ambedkars texts such as
Annihilation of Caste, Castes in India, The
Hindu Code Bill and Buddha or Karl Marx are included
in this volume. The volume offers the variety of subject matter of Ambedkars
writings, which cut across disciplines such as history, economics, anthropology,
and politics.

Rodrigues presents the context
and the significance of Ambedkar in his long introduction. He suggests
that Ambedkar represents a distinct intervention in the 1920s in the
anti-colonial struggle. According to Rodrigues, Ambedkar believed that
the movement of the untouchables was an integral part of the universal
movement for freedom, equality and fraternity. Rodrigues analyses Ambedkars
formulation of state socialism, constitutional democracy and Buddhism
to delineate Ambedkars vision of a just and emancipatory order.
He narrates a brief intellectual biography of Ambedkar (his educational
achievements, details of his writings, the formation of several organisations,
positions held in the colonial and the Indian government, journals edited,
and so on) to introduce Ambedkar in several roles. He highlights that
Ambedkar defined a critical role for a developmental state, argued for
the transformation of the Hindu social order and casteless society,
advocated state socialism and a dialogue between Marxism and Buddhism.
Rodrigues convincingly establishes Ambedkar as a scholar and a thinker
in his introduction.

Rodrigues also accounts for
the growing relevance of Ambedkar in contemporary India. He argues that
the Dalit movement placed Ambedkar at the centre stage of Indian politics
today. In the context of attempts to deploy him as a symbol of alternative
politics by the Dalits and to domesticate Ambedkar by the Indian state,
Rodrigues prescribes a critical scrutiny of Ambedkars ideas and
argues for a transition from the symbolic to a more engaged, transparent
and reflective response, particularly from the point of view of the
deprived classes and strata.

This volume is a good introduction
to the scholar and the activist who would like to quickly know the essential
ideas of Ambedkar. While recommending this volume, I wish to point out
that the body of Ambedkars writings throw up a new perspective
to study Indian society  its history, economy, culture, philosophy
and so on. The introduction fails to focus on the new perspective in
Ambedkars theory of caste and Brahminism. The editor claims that
both Ambedkar and Gandhi share a number of concerns in common
even after 1933. Ambedkar rejected Gandhism  the doom of
the Untouchables - and formulated an alternative vision of a just
society. Scholars have to unlearn the art of elevating Ambedkar by equating
him with Gandhi. Ambedkar is a distinct scholar and leader in his own
way.